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3^57^7^ 



"Settlement in tlie West." 



HENRY O'RIELLY'S "PIONEER MEMORANDA," 

WITH ILLUSTRATIVE DOCUMENTS AND OTHER RECORDS 
Coiiceniitig some of tho Principal Eroiits in liis connection with 

e First Foolpits in Ik iardi of Enipir e icross llie iiiim Continent, 

♦■♦-♦ 

Earliest Daily Journalism, Artificial Navigation, Telegraphic Facilities, &c., between 
Eastern and Western States. 

(WITHOUT GOVERNMENTAL SUBSIDIES, AND 

BEFORE THE ADVENT OF "MONOPOLIZING RINGS" AND "RAILWAY KWJGS.") 



(Over 150 Volumes, ■*rx'ittcn and printed, mostly concerning matters in whicll lie 
Vfas measurably engaged during tlie last Half Century.) 

1 882 . 



Z" 







4.^- 



HENRY O^HIELLY'S "PIONEER MEMORANDA," 

WITH ILLUSTRATIVE DOCUMENTS AND OTHER RECORDS 
Ooiicerniiig- some of the Principal Events in his connection with 

Ik First Fwlpriiils in tie lafdi of Empire itross llie Aiiierieaii Continent. 

Earliest Daily Journalism, Artificial Navigation, Telegraphic Facilities, kz., between 
Eastern and Western States. 

(WITHOUT GOVERiVMEIVTAL !?l BSIUIES, and 

BEFORE THE ADVENT OF "MONOPOLIZING RINGS" AND "RAILWAY KINGS.") 

(Over 150 Yolumts. uiittou and i..iiiU..I, m(.stlj coiic-rniim matters in n huh he « as ineasunil.lj engaged 

diiiin« the last Half Oentury.) 



PEEFAT( )RY REMARKS-TO C^ORRESPONDENTS, &c. 

INOUIRIES often made by letters to uie and otherwise concerning Eyents^xnd Persons 
supposed to have been included in my Personal Knowledge during the last Half-Century 
imUice me to print and send to Correspondents and certain prominent Historical Societies 
the statTment^that a CATALOGUE niay ere long be n.ade of the whole Contents of he 
SllectioT presented by me to the "New York Historical Society," (as shown m the 
annexed proSngs, d ;*) and that, meantime, the Few Points mentioned m these Prefatory 
SsScoicerninc' some important Events and Personages may enable Inquirers to see the 
c^xietal^en byline in authenticating (as far as practicable) the Statements m the volumes 
"enerally-concerning which some^further remarks may be found on the Tenth Page of 
fliis •' Prefacp' (if these sayings may be thus characterized), „ 

I had i-- hoped that Circumstances might enable me to present these " Memoranda 
in smoother foir^-but, rough as they are, and such as they are, they are free y given, for 
tLreofTnqu\"ers nowand hereafter -for the " Macauleys" of these and tuture times- 
pnncprninw the beeinning of Civilization " Westward. , ^ ■, ^ ii 

*New York Historical Society- 1 860. 

H™ev O'ElEii.v, E»i. : -If? »«•■■ «"-.'-I «"■>•' J'»» "»' 1»11S-J<-1»J«1 »^''-'«'« '"" ""■ 
Minnfp'; which vou desired — and your Diploma. _ ^. ^ • 

f Imve receheV the boxes and parcel, as well as your communications. It being a 
vacaLn for our Committees, aswell as Society, I shall have to beg your indulgence fora more 
full notice and acknowledgment until we come together again. 

Meantime permit me^o renew to you my own expression ot the sense I have of the 
value and importance of your donations ; and behe^e me to be^^ moSe iV.ranVo. &c [*] 
Very truly and respectfully yours, . GEO. HENRI .^^■,' ^''"""""' '^^- 1- ^ 
Library of the N. Y. Historical Society, New \ork, August .30, IbbO. 
pDr. G. H. Moore is iiow Supt. of the "Leunox Library."] 

At a stated meetin- of the above Society, held at the Library on Tuesday Evening May 
3d 185^ he LTbmriVin presented and read a letter from Mr. Henry O'Rielly, dated New 
York 23 Wall Street May 3d, 1859, accompanying his donation of Telegraph Documents 
aS Western iSmentos. ^ In view of the value and importance of this donation the Libra- 
nan exmessedthrb that some special acknowledgment should be made by the Society. 
X John RBrodhead thereupon submitted the following Resolution which was adopted : 

''J^r.o/;-ed Tharthe subject of the proper acknowledgment by the Society of the 
munificent and rn^t valuable'donation wlAch it has just received from Mr. Henry O Rielly, 

'^ '1r^ tZ^'£^ZS^tf il.e said Society, held at the Library, on Tuesday 

^""^ M^^IoTre ft-Jufthe Executive Committee, submitted the following : 

SeExecu'tive Committee respectfully recommend the following Resolution for adoption 
by t?e Lclet>" In vVew of the very important and valuable contributions made and proposed 

''^ ^'KlrS'Tlmt^^e thanks of the Society are due, and are hereby tendei;ed, to Henry 
O'Riellv Es , foi his very interesting and important donations, and that he be and is 
O Hieiiy, J^^a- /oi „ T i+J Mpiiihpr of the Societv " The Resolution was adopted unanimously. 
^""^SrS-oin tl^^SiSo "'^''''" '-ANDREW WARNER, EeL-ain, Secretary. 

New York -Evening Post Job Printing' Office-1882. 



Contributions to the New York Historical Society. 



January, 1882. 

" Harpers' Cyclopedia of American History " (lately issued), gives the following- 
sketch (in its 2d volume, pages 103o-G) concerning Henry O'Rielly's contributions to the 
" New York Historical Society," of which Society, Dr. Benson J. Lossing (the Editor of that 
Cyclopedia), has long been a member : 

(From " Ilarpn-s' Ci/clopediit of American Histori/,") 

" Henry O'Eielly, one of the most active and public-spirited citizens, was born in 
Carrickmacross, Province of Ulster, Ireland, Feb. G, 180G. His father (a merchant) emi- 
grated to America in 1816, and soon afterwards this son was aiiprenticed to the publisher of 
the New York Vohmibiaa (newspaper) to learn the art of i^rinting. The Columhian was a 
stanch advocate of the Erie Canal, and a political supporter of De Witt Clinton ^\s its able 
chamijion. The mind of the ai)prentice was thus early impressed with the importance of 
measures for the development of the vast resources of the United States— a subject which 
has inspired much of his activity and zeal in the promotion of public improvements. At 
the age of seventeen years he became assistant editor of the New York Patriot, the organ of 
the 'People's Party,' which elected De Witt Clinton governor of the State of New York in 
1824. When, in 182G, Luther Tucker & Co. established the Rochester Dnihi Advertiser — the 
first daily newspaper published between the Hiidson River and the Pacific Ocean — young 
O'Rielly, then not twenty-one yeai's of age, was chosen to be its editor. It was a period of 
great political and social excitement, especially in central New York (see Anti-Masonic 
Party), and, after four years of arduous labor, O'Rielly retired for rest. He resumed bis 
editorial labors there m 1832, and became an active leader in all public enterjirises. In 
1833, as chairman of the Executive Committee of Rochester on Canal Affairs, he wi'ote the 
first memorial presented to the Legislature and the Canal Board, in favor of rebuilding the 
failing structures of the Erie Canal. He then proposed a judicious plan for the enlarge- 
ment of the Canal, which, if it had been adopted, might have saved the State millions of 
dollars. He was a zealous advocate of such Enlargement, and he was chairman of the first 
State Executive Committee appointed by the first Canal Enlargement Convention in 1837. 
In that capacity he served many years with great efiiciency. In 1838 he was appointed post- 
master of Rochester. At the same time his never-wearied pen jirepared pamphlets and 
newsjiaper essays, filled with cogent arguments in favor of reform in the methods of popular 
Education. In these efl'orts he was ably seconded by ihe venerable James Wadsworth, of 
Geneseo ; and their joint labors led to the legislation that fashioned the present common- 
school system of the State of New York. Mr. O'Rielly earnestly advocated the introduction 
of works on Agriculture into the school-district libraries of the State, and his wise sug- 
gestions in his reports as secretary of the State Agricultural Society, almost forty years ago, 
have been practically carried out in the establishment of State agricultural colleges in everj^ 
commonwealth in the Union. He was the originator of the ' State Constitutional Associa- 
tion,' which was the means of bringing aboiit the reforms in the constitution of the State 
of New York in 184G. He was also the originator, at about the same time, of a project for the 
establishment of a private Telegraph system for a range of about eight thousand miles in 
length, connecting all sections of the United States east of the Mississippi River. For this 
purpose he secured the right to the use of all the telegraph patents which had then been 
granted. In 1853 Mr. O'Rielly was engaged by the State of Iowa to improve the navigation 
of the Des Moines River, but circumstances caused a suspension of the work. A few years 
later the railroad interest in the State of New York took an attitude decidedly hostile to the 
great Erie Canal, a powerful commercial rival. That interest conspired to destroy its credit 
and to make the people believe that it was the source of burdensome taxation. The com- 
pletion of its Enlargement was op]Josed, and a scheme was devised for controlling legisla- 
tion so as to deprive the peoj)le of this great property by its sale to the highest bidder. In 
the fall of 1859 Mr. O'Rielly sent forth a stirring address to the People of the State on the 
subject. They were aroused. The 'Clinton League' was formed, with Mr. O'Rielly as 
chairman, and, by their untiring aftbrts, this scheme, which, if carried out, would have dis- 
graced the Commonwealth, was frustrated. When the late Civil War broke out he was one 
of the most active promoters of measiires for the preservation of the Union, and was secre- 
tary of the ' Society for Promoting the Enlistment of Colored Troops. ' He originated, in 
1867, an organized movement for reforming and cheapening the operations of the Railroad 
System of the United States. About 1838 Mr. O'Rielly prepared and published a volume of 
five hi;ndred pages entitled Sketches of Rochester, with Incidental Notices of Western New York. 
It was the first work of its kind ever published in the interior of the continent. He has 
deposited with the New York Historical Society, of which he has now (1880) been a member 
about forty years, almost two hundred volumes, partly in manuscript and partly in print, 
containing well-arranged documents and other papers relating to the History of important 
public events in which he has participated. These form authentic materials of inestimable 
value, especially to the future Historian of the Early Operations of the Canal and Telegraph 
Systems of the United States." 

2 



HENRY O'RIELLY'S PIONEER MEMORANDA 

WITH DOCUMENTS AND OTHER RECORDS 

SHOWING THE PlIINCirAL EVENTS IN HIS CONNECTION WITH THE 

FIRST FOOTPRINTS IN THE MARCH OF EMPIRE 

ACROSS THE AMERICAN CONTINENT:- 

Earliest Daily Journalism, Artificial Navigation, Telegraphic Facilities, Sic, between Eastern 

and Western States. 

(WITHOUT (iOVERXMEM'AL SUBSIDIES, and 

BEFORE THE ADVENT OF "MONOPOLIZING RINGS" AND "RAILWAY KINGS.") 



"Settlement in the West; 



Pioneer Days in Western New York and Elsewhere in the West. 

(See remarks of William CuUen Bryant and Benson J. Lossing on succeeding pages.) 



1. "The past and passing history of 'the West,' and every part and parcel of it, is 
precioiis. It will be more and more so as time advances. The transformation of a savage 
wilderness into a region of culture and civilization, in a period so short, * * * is 
a most interesting plienomenon in human history.'" * * 

"We are fortunate in being a New People. Our Historians may begin at the beginning, 
and complete their tale without being compelled to invoke the aid of superstition or im- 
agination." "Let us be thankful that we are as we are, and that, from being as the small 
cloud in the West, scarce the compass of a man's hand, the providence of God has raised 
us up a Powerful Empire, whose realms extend from the East unto the West, from the 
frozen waters of the North to the clear blue waves and spicy gales of the Tropic Seas ; and 
while we contemplate, with all the pride of a Roman Citizen, the wide domain of our in- 
heritance, let us quietly reflect upon the Seed from which all this mighty harvest has 
sprung ; let us regard Events as they actually were— not judging of their value or import- 
ance by what has come after them ; and we shall see from Avhat Humble Means, with what 
unpromising tools, the Destiny of the New World has been wrought." 

"The history has an aspect of much higher interest— as an important feature of the 
Grand Experiment enacting in our Common Country touching the Capacity of Man for 
Self-government."— ^Av7r//i American Heriew. 

2. "Settlement then and in that region was different from our modern settlement. What 
is it now to go to the ' Far West ' of Missouri— [yea, now, in Palace Cars, and with other 
palatial comforts and luxuries, across the Continent to the Pacific Ocean] — and how great 
are the comforts of Railroads and Steamboats, and quick Mails, with Lightning Telegraphy 
and exemption from Indian Difficulties and other frontier troubles, compared with what the 
SeUlers of Western Xein York had to contend? 

"And where, in the history of mankind, has human energy, enlightened energy, 
individual energy, Yankee energy, (for that word ' Yankee ' embodies a volume of meaning) 
been more signally displayed •> * * * 

"The facts, plainly stated, mav be useful to the Historian, who shall hereafter speak ot 
that remarkable Chapter in the World's History— the Ftr.'<t IMf- Century of Western Nem York. 
^^- More of the History of our Confederacy hinges on the Proijress of Western New York 
than most of us imagine." * * * North American Review— 18ii6. 

3. "That which constitutes Histon/, properly so called, is in great part omitted from 
works on the subject. Only of late years have Historians commenced giving us, in any 
considerable (luantity, the truly valuable information. As in past ages the King was every- 
thing and the People nothing, so, in past Histories, the doings of the King fill the entire 
picture, to which the National Life forms but an obscure background -while only now, when 
the welfare of Nations, rather than of Rulers, is becoming the dominant idea, are Historians 
beginning to occupy themselves with the phenomena of Social Progress. That which it 
really concerns us to know, is the Natural History of Society. We want all facts which 
help us to understand h(nr a Nation has grovvi and organized itself. Among these, let us of 
course have an account of its Government, with as little as may be of gossip about the men 
who officered it, and as much as possible about the structure, principles, methods, prejudices, 
corruptions, A-c, which it exhibited ; and let this account not only include the nature and 
actions of the Central Government, but also those of Local Governments, down to the 
minutest ramifications."— iToV^eci Spencer, in '' Mnralion, Intellectual, Moral and Physical." 



* This ("Settlement in the West, or Sketches of Rochester and Western New York") is 
the title of the volume written by Henry O'Rielly in 1837-8. (Printed then by the Harpers 
in New York, although published by William Ailing of Rochester, where O'R. then lived.) 

3 



'' Growth of our Country/' as indicated by the Spread of Journalism. 

To William Cullen Bryant, 

Editor of the "Evenlmj Post,'' and \'ife-Pr<'sideid af tlic "New Yurk Historiral Socii'ti/,'' 

this vohiuie of Henry 0'E.ielly's " Pioneer Memoranda, " concerning Journalistic and other 
Progress in "Western Settlement," is 

EESPECTFULIiY DEDICATED, 

in Memory of the Recognition which Mr. Bryant (then Assistant, bnt soon afterwards and 
for long yeare Chief, Editor of that Metropolitan Journal) bestowed more than Half a Cen- 
tury ago upon the Earliest Effort in establishing a Daily NeAvspaper in the Interior of the 
American Continent— between the Atlantic waters and the Pacific Ocean — of which Henry 
0'E.ielly was the Editor,* — Mr. Bryant then substantially declaring (in a leading Editorial of 
1826, herewith copied) that the establishment of a Daily print so far " westward " as Eoches- 
ter was one of the most remarkable Events showing the extraordinary "Growth of our 
Country." HENRY O'RIELLY, 

Editor of the Rochester Baity Adrertiser—1^2C^, &c. 



1836. 

(Fram tlir New Yarl- Kveiiriig Post, of Oc/ohrr :;], IS'iG.) 

" Growth of our Country. 

" We have received the first number of a Daily Paper, printed at Rochester, in this 
State, entitled the Rochester Daily Advertiser. The Editor sjjeaks with confidence of his 
success, and adverts to the unexpected extent of his advertising patronage. Nothing can 
show, in a more striking point of view, the rapid increase (f our Population and internal Commerce, 
than the fact, that this place, which within a few years was a wilderness, is now enabled, 
by the number of its Inhabitants and the activity of its Trade, to support a Daily Paper." 



Forty Years Later- 1 866. 



When referring in 1866— forty years afterwards — to these matters — mentioning and 
quoting its original notice of the establishment of the Rochester Daily Advertiser^the 
Evening Post, still under the editorial direction of Mr. I^ryant, said : 

"The issue of that (^r(% newspaper marked «» era in the history of the Western Press. 
Rochester was one of the places that earliest felt the impulse of the Canal (or Internal Im- 
provement) System -the lowly village sprang into city dimensions and prosperity with a 
degree of vigor at that time unequalled. The Erie Canal— completed only at the close of 
the i^revious year, though for two or three years partly in operation— quickly developed the 
water-power, in milling operations, which has rendered Rochester celebrated as the source 
of the ' Genesee Flour,' Entering early and largely into the Forwarding Business, the 
Rochester People for many years controlled the greatest portion of the vessels engaged in 
the Canal Trade, and exercised a strong influence on all questions concerning Internal 
Improvements. Tlie advance of Rochester in some other respects \vas scarcely less remark- 
able, though the growth of Chicago and other western places soon afterwards threw it com- 
pletely into the shade." * * * 

"In nothing is ' change " more remarkable than in the history of the Press since the 
Rochester Daily Adveriisrr was established," continued the Evenivg Post in 1866— which 
journal said that, in 1826, the aggregate daily circulation of all the daily newspapers in 
America scarcely -equalled the qiiantity of printed matter (considering the increased size of 
newspapers) now struck off in three liours by one of Hoe's ten-cylinder presses in some of 
the New York printing offices. * * * The original publisher of the Rochester Daily 
Advertiser was Luther Tucker,* and the editor Henry O'Rielly. The former is now (1866) as 
he has been for more than thirty years, editor of the (kdti valor and Country Gentleman— the 
latter has been connected with the Telegraph system since its commencement, and resides 
in New York. 



* The interesting statements of the New York Evening Post are incorrect iu only one point, and that is in 
connection with t\ie ptiblication of the Pioneer Western Daily. The publishers were "Luther Tucker & Co.,"' 
in Rochester— the " Company " being Henry C. Sleight, of the Long Island Farmer, at Jamaica, L. I., where 
the firm was known as " Sleight & Tucker." Mr. Sleight conceived the plan, and furnished the pecuniary 
means, with men and material for carrying it into eflfect, Mr. O'Eielly being engaged as Editor— as stated in Mr 
Tucker's letter of Sept., 1827, and in Mr. Sleight's letters of 1873 'and 1874, when replying to Mr. O'B.'s in- 
quiries—as shown in the correspondence placed by Mr. O'R. in the New York Historical Society's Library, 
among the many documents and other original papers given by him to the Society— his desire being that 
justice should be done to Mr. Sleight for his sagacity and liberality in originating the enterprise and in 
sustaining it till success rendered it self-sustaining— a measure of justice to which Mr. Sleight (lately de- 
ceased, in his 85th year) is particularly entitled, as he actually lost rnoney, instead of profiting by an enter- 
prise considered so hazardous in those "early days of western progress. "-^-(Vide O'Eielly's Sketch of Pioneer 
Daily .Journalism Westward, in N. Y. Historical Library.) 



1834-1860. 

Internal Navigation— Between the Atlantic and our Inland Seas. 

DEDICATION OF THE VOLUMES ON THAT SUBJECT, 

concerning Three of the Most Important Epochs in the History of Artificial Navigation 
between the Atlantic Ocean and the vast Chain of Lakes, through the State of New York — 

To THE Memory or GOVEKNOR WASHINGTON HUNT,* 

one of the Earliest Friends of the " Rebuilding and Enlargement of the Erie Canal,'' whose 
letters to Henry O'Rielly, as well as his official and other papers, including Speeches and 
Acts in Popular Conventions, evince the interest witli which he and other Statesmen and the 
Public generally in this Commonwealth (including the venerable Jesse IlawJey, the earliest 
writer who i)ublicly advocated the original "Oi-erland Erie Canal"), regarded the Policy of 
Speedibj Enlarging raid RehuUding that Gi'eat Waterway, and Preserving it For Ever as the 
Property of the People of the State of Kew York, instead of allowing it to be Sacrificed to 
SpecTilators, (as was the fate of the Public Works of Pennsylvania,) indicated briefly by his 
communications concerning the successful operations of the "Clinton League.'* 

HENRY O'RIELLY, 

Chairmau for several years of the First Executive Committees appointed by the Citizens 
of Rochester and by the First State Convention for Promoting and Expediting the 
Keb^iilding and Enlargement of the Canal connecting the Atlantic with onr Inland 
Seas — and also Chairman of the Clinton League. 



1859-60. 

* The popular enthusiasm and the practical results, consequent on these Internal Imisrovemeut pi'oceed- 
ings of the Clinton Leagiie, may be measurably inferred from the following letters (among other correspon- 
dence), from a source so distinguished as Governor Washington Hunt, concerning the Salvation of the New 
York Canal System, from sale and sacrifice, as perpetrated in Pennsylvania : 

"LocKPORT, Nov. 28, 18i59. 
" My dear Sir : 

"All honor to ' the Clinton League ! ' Under your skillful guidance, it has accomplished a grand and 
noble puriiose. It has interposed, in the barren strife of parties, to bring forth practical results and jsrotect 
the true interests of the State. I am persuaded that you never rendered a more valuable public service than 
in coming forward at this juncture to save the Canal from the hostile influences which have combined 
against it. Mainly by your eft'orts we have a Legislatui'e which cannot abandon the Enlargement Policy with- 
out a flagrant violation of pledges. A majority of the members come in under iirofessious which I trust they 
dare not disregard. This is a most important point gained by the Movement which derived so much of its 
energy from your active zeal and able exiiositions of the truth. 

" Having carried all the outposts, the main battle remains to be fought and won. Of cour.=e, much 
effort will be made to mislead the Legislature and x^revent such action as the emergency requires. We must 
continue to occupy the field until the crowning triumph is secured. It seems to me that you ought to spend 
some time in Albany, backed up by some other members of the Committee, to see that strong apjieals and 
needful information are placed before the Legislature, from the very oi)ening of the session. I make these 
suggestions ott'-hand for your consideration. 

'•Accept my thanks for what you have already done, and I hoiie you will persevere in the good work until 
we are able to proclaim from the house-tops that it is finished. 

" Believe me, voiirs truly, 

"W. HUNT, 
"Heney O'Riklly, Esq." 



(Another of the letters from Ex-Governor Washington Hunt to Hknry O'Rielly dated) 

"LocKPORT, Feb. 7. 1860. 

" My dear Sir— All honor to the Clinton League ! It makes very strong and thorough work. And to you 
—its guiding, animating spirit— I feel that we are all under lasting obligations. Your plan of operations has 
been very practical and ettective. I do not think a good cause was ever better sustained than this has been 
by the way of fact and argument which you have placed before the people. I need not say how fully my 
opinions accord with yours in regard to the justice and expediency of the proposed legislation. The rail- 
road interest has been' placed in direct conflict with the rights of our own people. It is assumed, I perceive, 
that the proposed pco rata law will deprive the roads of the western trade. Not at all. They will be free to 
carry as cheap as they please. But the law (biU) virtually enjoins them to carry for a New York man as cheap 
as for a citizen of Ohio or Indiana. Upon every principle of right and policy, they are bound to do this, and 
I hope to see the measure carried out by the Legislature. It must be done. 

•'To you a large i^art of the honor will be due. You are doing a great public service, which will be 
remembered with gratitude. My whole heart is with you in the work. 

" Yours truly, 

"W. HUNT. 
"Henby O'Rielly, Esq., New York." 



Constitutional and Statutory Reform— 1843, &c. 

1. '• It is the distinguishing glory of the People of New York, that they have been the first 
" to commence the Movement of Tlefnnn—a.n example which, we have no doubt, will be 
ultimately followed by every State in the Onion," said the National (Washington) Demorratio 
KerieiO in December, 1843. (And the Reforms proposed by the New York State Constitu- 
tional Association of 1843-6, were indeed quickly emulated in the Constitutions and Laws 
of almost every State in the Union.") 

2. " The movement which resulted in the adoption of the Constitution of 1846, in the 
State of New York, was in truth <i, RevohdUm. radical and sweeping, in Law, in Finance, 
and in Administration— « Ecfohi^Mx/, such as, in no other country less prosperous or less 
flexible than ours, could have been accomplished without a serious and probably a bloody 
struggle," said Theodure.Sedgwiclr, in "Harpers'," about ten years after the " New Constitu- 
tion " (of 1846) was adopted. 

3. "The changes introduced by it are not only more numeroiis than ever before made at 
any one time, but far more important," said Attorney-General Butler, in his Discourse 
before the "New York Uistoriccd Societi/" in ISffl', when the New Constitution went into 
force. 

4. " The Constitution of '46, although possessing great faults, was a great improvement 
upon any which had preceded it," wrote Ex-Lieut. Governor Henry R. Selden in Sept. 1877 — 
adding, "I think no Eevohition of equal importance was ever before accomplished so 
quietly." 

5. As Charles O'Conor, late Vice-President of the New^York Historical Society, was a Mem- 
ber of the State Convention which formed the present Constitution, (that of "1846,'") Henry 
O'llielly transmitted to him, many years ago, (18.52,) copies of several documents about 
Constitutional Eeform, &c., like those now deposited in the New York Historical Society's 
Library; and received, in reply, a letter, of which the following is a copy of the first 
paragraph: — 

"Henry O'Rielly, Esq.-— My dear Sir— Please to accept my sincere thanks for the valuable 
"documents with which you have favored me. They record events and actions which have 
" greatly intluenced our condition as a People, and add to the stock of materials hereafter to 
"be combined by some able hand in a Constitutional History of the Republic. * * 

"Yours truly, ' CH. OCONOR." 



1843 6, &c. 



Mr. Bryant on "Organization" for Reform of Constitutions and Laws. 

As the testimony of Mr. Bryant has been several times referred to in these "Pioneer 
Memoranda," and as the only correct account of the Constitutional Reform Association of 
1843-6 is contained in the Documents and Statements which Mr. O'Rielly contributes to 
the "New York Historical Society's Library," it maybe well to quote the letter (most 
emphatic, though brief) which Mr. Bryant sent in reply to Mr. O'R.'s annunciation that he 
(Mr. B. ) liad been elected first Vice-President of the Organization thus effected for consum- 
mating the "overthrow of the Old Constitution, and the establishment of the New Constitxi- 
tion (of 1846^," towards which the EneuiiKj Post contriluited so largely. Hence, Mr. Bryant's 
letter of 1843 is herewith appended : 

(Letter from Mr. Bryant, of the New York Evening Post.) 

" New York, Aug. 14, 1843. 
"Gentlemen -The importance of the objects for which your Association is established 
and the necessity of Onjmihation to acconqylish them, induce me to depart from my usual prac- 
tice in such cases, and to accept the a2:)pointment of Vice-President which the members have 
done me the honor of offering me. 

"lam, gentlemen, very respectfully yours, W. C. Bei-.-vnt. 

"Messrs. Chas. S. Benton, Henry W. Strong, Hiram M'CoUum, Hugh T. Brooks, Henry 
R. Selden, R. H. Williams, George W. Clinton, Lorenzo Sherwood, Henry O'Rielly." [O'R. 
proposed the " Organization," and acted as Secretary, Editor, &c., in aiding to effect it.] 

Letter from PARKE GODWIN, long an associate of Mr. Bryant. 

" RosLYN, Long Isiand, Sept. 12, 1877. 
"My dear Mr. O'Rielly : 

"Your plan for preserving the names of those who begun and carried forward the great 
Constitutional Reform, to which your letter refers, seems to me admirable. I was then just 
beginning my editorial life in the New York Evening Post ; but I remember with what i^ro- 
found and ardent interest I watched the progress of the Movement, and helped it along in 
such way as I co\ild. Most of the men who were then prominent have passed away ; but 
their labors deserve to be held in everlasting remembrance. What giants of public polity, 
as well as of personal ability, there were in those days ! Wright, Hoffman, Young, Cambre- 
ling, Sherwood and others — how their names still ' smell sweet and blossom in the dust ! ' It 
must be a grand memory for you to have been associated with them, and, with their aid, to 
have accomplished so much ! Yours, very truly, PARKE GODWIN." 

6 



(1845-59-60.) 



#'3itcll|'H Sckjgraph gffi|umpts: 

AN IMPARTIAL COLLECTION OF PAPEKS CONCERNING THE 

ORIGIN OF THE TELEGRAPH SYSTEM. 



Desigued to iuclmle fvi_Ty attiiiu- 
able printed statement, pro and cuii. 
respecting the Range of Telegraph 
Lines, eight thousand miles in ex- 
tent, whereby Heney O'Rif.lly first 
electrically connected the United 




States, before the organization of 
States on our Pacific Coast: — ithe 
ordinary BUSINESS OF A GOVERN- 
MENT, accomplished, amid extraor- 
dinary difficulties, by Private En- 
TKKPRISE, without (Tovernmental 
bounties.) 



CONTAINING-AMONG OTHER MATTERS - 

—The original ift-oposals of Henry O'Rielly to the P\iblic. for extending the Telegraph System, by individual 

enterprise -.—Most People then supposing that the Telegraph System could not be established 

without Goveruniental Aid — 
—Statements, Opinions and Decisions, from the Courts, the Press, and the Public Councils.— 
—Testimony of prominent Electricians. Telegraiihers. Inventors and Patentees.— 
—The Telegraph Laws of various States, passed in accordance with O'Rielly 's Memorials and suggestions, 
With various accounts of Electric Discoveries, and Statements from Sundry Sources, concerning 
ditterent modes of applying Electricity for Telegraphic purposes— 
As such accounts were elicited bv, or connected with, the controversies which have convulsed the Telegraph 
System nearly from the time of its origin in America— from the date of the attempt made by the Morse 
Patentees in 184 d to repudiate their Contract with Henry O'Rielly— commonly known in the Courts and 
otherwise as tlie ■• O'Ru'llji Contract," concerning Telegraph Lines built by him— 

ON DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF WHICH LINES 
Were used [what are called] the -'Morse" Electro-TVIagnctic and the "Bain " Electro-Chemical Telegraphic 
Instruments-and temporarily the " House " Printing, and the "Barnes " Columbian Telegraph Instru- 
ments—under O'Rielly's conv'raets or agreements with the respective Inventors or Patentees :— 

WHICH LINES I"! WERE BY O'RIELLY STYLED 

The "Atlantic, Lake and Mississippi Telegraph Range," or " First Divisicm of the Atlautit'. and Pacific Tele- 
graph,"— though eaiiv named bv his opponents, and soon after popularly known under the general title 
of, the " O'Rielly Line's,"- the name originally given (derisively, of course) by owners of Morse Patents:— 

SniaRang,' of Lhii-x having also been known partli/.at different times and in various regions, as National 
Lines, Union Lines. Morse Lines, Columbian Lines. Bain Lines, Merchant Lines, People s Lines, and by 
other similar designations: and also bv simdrv local names, Puch as the Atlantic and Ohio Lines, the 
Pittsburgh Cincinnati and Louisville, iiud Nashville. New Orleans, and St. Louis Lines, the Tuscumbia, 
Memphis and Vicksburg Lines, the Michigan. Wisconsin and Iowa Lines, the Ohio and Mississippi 
Lines Ohio. Indiana and Illinois Lines. Lake Lines, Illinois and Mississippi Lines, Chicago and St. 
Louis Lines Wabash Valley Lines, New York State Lines. New York and New England Telegraph Lines, 
^Vcc &c —but the whole Range, bv whatever names any of the parts have been or may be known, having 
foruied the FIRST RANiiE OF TELECiRAPH LINES which connected in Electric Unity the different Sec- 
tions of theUniti'd States— South. -ru. Northern, Eastern and Western— between the Atlantic, the Lakes, 
and the Mississippi— betw<'eu tlie British-American Provinces and the Mexican Gulf. '•= ■■■= * * 

About 100 VOLUMES— mostly printed, or prepared for my private use, in connection with controversies, 
through the Courts and before the Publi.-. alfecting the Legal and Equitable Rights of Electricians, In- 
ventors Constructors, and the Community, since the commencement of Telegraphing in America. 

Arranged so as to include evfni atlainahle slatenwnt from or on hi-hnlj i'fhi:< fornur cnniiwtitorx ami opponents— iU&t 
■• the truth and the whole truth," mav be known, as far as publications col.hcledjroiii (ill. sources, however 
hostiU- to hlms,-lf can aid in elucidating the tacts concerning the Origin of the American Telegraph 
System— on Lines built by others as well as himself— , .^, ^i , t^ * • 

By HENRY O'RIELLY, whose Correspondence and other Manuscripts connected with the early Extension of 
Telo^raph Lines through the United States, may thus be consulted by parties desiring particular infor- 
matiliu concerning the Tehgraph System which First electrically connected the United States before 
the organization of State Sovereignties on our Pacific Coast.— 

PRESENTED TO THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY,— MAY, IHr.ll. 

" Nothing extenuate, nor aught set down in malice." 



* ORIGIN OF THE "WESTERN UNION TELE(JRAPH COMPANY." 

When a certain Telegraph Line was contemphited several years ago, as an adjunct of a 
Commercial Enterprise, some facts were furnished by me, on request of a prominent 
Director, with a statement that : 

" Annexed to this proposition are sundry documents -duplicates of some few of those 
in the Historical Society's 'Telegraph Collection'— showing how, when Telegraphing on long 
lines was yet an 'untried experiment, ''I originally addressed the American People in 1845 
concerning the extension of the Telegraph System through the United States, hy private or 
corporate enterprise rather than hq </ouennnental power and showing likewise the rapidity 
wherewith I more than fulfilled all' that I originally proposed, by constructing and organ- 
izing the Great Telegraph Range of about 8,000 miles whereby the different sections of the 
United States (as thev then existed) were connected in electric intercourse—///*^ torajest and 
widest Teleqraph Baia'/e then in the ivm'ld—at a time when not a solitarii eapliallst In this (jreat 
Conmerrlal Metropolis, not even the rich kindred of Professor Morse, would risk a single 
dollar in extending the Lightning from Baltimore, where the National Government ended 
its 'little forty-mile experimental line from Washington'— the Pioneer Telegraph Range of 
Lines which I thus organized amid the troubles of early years (out of which Range of Lines 
others made millions), afterwards forming the chief basis of the colossal Lightning Power 
now known as the ' Western Union Telegraph Company.' " 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 542 714 9 # 



"Settlement in the West." 



